Sarahah Revealing the Identities of All Anonymous Users Is A Hoax By Erica Abbott

Reports that popular new mobile app Sarahah is revealing the names of people who sent anonymous messages on their platform are false. Rumors that the anonymous messaging app is exposing their users’ identities on Aug. 1 stemmed from a satire website.

According to Hoax Alert, the fake claim originated on 8Shit, an entertainment and satire website. The article claimed that the app would be revealing the names behind all anonymous messages as part of a social experiment by the government. It purported:

There’s a new app ruling all app stores: Sarahah. This application allows you to anonymously send messages to anyone registered, without them “knowing” that it was you. Unlike ask.fm, there’s no way to let them know that it was you who sent the message, and there’s no way to reply messages.

Even so, the app became a hit. To reply messages, users usually screenshot the list of messages and then put their replies on top of the screenshot.

But this is all a social experiment made by the CIA. And they’re planning to release all the names of the people who sent messages:

The report, however, is entirely fabricated. The rumor that Sarahah was revealing their users’ identities was based on a fake tweet. “Soon we will be revealing the names to all you sarahah users,” @SarahahAPP tweeted last week. The Twitter account, which also claimed that the app was part of a government experiment and that they would be locking people out of their accounts, is not real.

Sarahah’s verified account, @Sarahah_com, later debunked the rumor on Twitter. “The @Sarahah team would like to state that the rumor about ‘exposing identities on August 1st’ is false,” they tweeted. Additionally, 8Shit states in their disclaimer that they publish a variety of satire stories:

8Shit is a satire and humor website. It contains cutting edge satire on a diverse range of topics.

The website publishes fake news, shocking rumors and reports with incisive sarcasm, and humor. We also post crazy real news which often sounds too good to be true.

The anonymous messaging app, which made its debut last month, has been very popular in the App Store. Fortune reports that while the app has soared to the top of the U.S. iOS App Store, it has also “become a breeding ground for cyberbullying and hate speech,” despite the fact that it is supposed to be used to share open and honest feedback. App creator Zain al-Abidin Tawfiq told Mashable that he is trying his best “to create an environment that’s positive.”

The #Sarahah team would like to state that the rumor about "exposing identities on August 1st" is false

Have you seen the fake story about Sarahah revealing the names behind users’ anonymous messages circulating social media? What are your thoughts on the anonymous messaging app? Sound off in the comments section below!